Week 4 Wrap-ups

Strong 5-2 weekend for the WAC, including close road wins for New Mexico State and Fresno.

Here is how it all went down:

Boise State 37, # 17 Oregon 32

In Eugene, the Broncos(3-0) looked very strong in their first road win at a BCS conference school in team history. The Broncos are now 1-13 all time on the road against the 'big boys.' The Broncos upset the Ducks behind a strong performance from redshirt freshman Quarterback, Kellen Moore, who threw for 386 yards and three touchdowns in his first college road game. Moore's only mistake came in the 3rd quarter when the ball was intercepted after being tipped by Moore's intended receiver. The Duck's capitalized on the short field with a touchdown. Showing his veins of ice and the poise of a seasoned veteran, Moore threw a strike to wideout Vinny Perretta, who was lined up against a linebacker, for a 76 yard touchdown. The Broncos defense also played well and showed their physicality throughout. The Duck's managed 267 yards on the ground, which sounds more impressive than it really is as they averaged only 4.4 yards per carry.

The Ducks had to depend mostly on the run game as their top two quarterbacks were out with injuries. 3rd stringer Jeremiah Masoli, a junior college transfer, left the game in the first half with a concussion, which left the offense in the hands of true freshman Chris Harper and their used-to-be-redshirt freshman, who had to burn the title when he appeared in the 4th quarter and managed to rack up 210 passing yards, all of the Ducks passing, in the final 15 minutes.

The win propelled the Broncos into the top 25, appearing at #20 in the AP and #19 in the Coaches poll. The Broncos are off this Saturday and will open WAC play against Louisiana Tech on October 1st.

Utah State 42, Idaho 17

In Logan, freshman Robert Turbin rushed for 123 yards, 106 in the second half, as the Aggies rolled the Vandals inside Romney Stadium. Utah State ended the game with 580 yards of total offense and the 42 points are the most scored by the Aggies under coach Brent Guy, and the most since they gained 684 against Weber State in 2001. Aggie sophomore Quarterback Diondre' Borel finished the game with 93 rushing yards and was 12-21 passing for 191 yards and two touchdowns.

Idaho scored on its first possession of the game and led 17-14 late in the third quarter following a 43-yard field goal from Tino Amancio. USU then exploded for 28 points in the final 15:34 of the game to record its largest margin of victory since it defeated Arkansas State, 49-0, on Oct. 25, 2003 in Logan.

The Aggies follow up a bye this week with a much tougher test against BYU at home. The Cougars are rolling after their second consecutive shutout. Idaho will play Saturday at San Diego State.

Louisiana Tech 41, Southeastern Louisiana 26

In Ruston, 2 big special teams please aided the Bulldogs in their defeat of the Lions of Southeastern Louisiana. The Bulldogs scored twice on special teams in the second quarter including a 57 yard punt return by Phillip Livas and Weldon Brown's 50 yard return of a blocked field goal attempt to put La Tech up 28-23 at the half. Tech running back, Daniel Porter, led the team with 97 rushing yards on 19 carries and 53 receiving yards in two catches.

Senior Quin Harris led Tech with 12 tackles and one fumble recovery, while Antonio Baker recorded his third straight double digit tackle performance with 11 along with one forced fumble. Kiamni Washington also had a big game defensively with a forced fumble and the blocked field goal.

The Bulldogs will take extra time to prepare for their October 1st match up on the Blue Turf at Boise State which will air on ESPN.

# 25 Fresno State 55, Toledo 54 (2OT)

In Toledo, Ohio, Nico Herron knocked down Aaron Opelt's 2-point conversion pass and No. 25 Fresno State held on to beat Toledo 55-54 in two overtimes on Saturday night. Senior Quarterback, Tom Brandstater, had a phenomenal day going 22-28 with 4 touchdowns in what Bulldog coach Pat Hill called the biggest win in his 143 games coaching at Fresno. Ryan Mathews had 87 yards on 18 carries while Anthony Harding had 86 yards on nine carries and a 31 yard touchdown run. Seyi Ajirotutu had 80 yards receiving on four receptions while Marlon Moore had 79 yards on five receptions including a 38-yard touchdown reception from Brandstater.

Toledo coach Tom Amstutz decided to go for the win after the Rockets scored on Opelt's 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end John Allen on fourth down but the conversion failed.

The Bulldogs play a struggling UCLA team at the Rose Bowl this Saturday.

Stanford 23, San Jose State 10

In Stanford, the Spartans allowed 23 unanswered points after jumping to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. Junior Kyle Reed, in his third career start at quarterback for the Spartans, was efficient at 23-of-26 for 165 yards passing, including completions on his first 15 attempts in the first half, but was behind a struggling offensive line who allowed eight sacks on the night. Senior running back, Yonas Davis, ran the ball 11 times for 66 yards to become only the 4th Spartans runner to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards.

The Spartans will travel to the islands, Saturday, for a show down with the Warriors who had a bye week.

New Mexico State 34, UTEP 33

In El Paso, the Aggies took their first win in the Sun Bowl since 1994. Junior wide receiver Marcus Anderson performed very well in his first rivalry game with three touchdown receptions. Senior Chris Williams caught seven passes to lead all receivers with 119 yards while senior quarterback Chase Holbrook threw for 329 yards and five touchdowns.

Derrick Richardson was the glue in the NMSU defense. The senior from Arizona recorded a career-high 21 tackles in New Mexico State’s 34-33 win at UTEP. The 21 tackles are an NCAA-high this year. Richardson also recovered a fumble midway through the first quarter.

The Aggies play host to in-state rivals, New Mexico on Saturday.